Subject: Flying Appalachian Ugly Bug
Location: Appalachian part of New York State
August 26, 2012 4:14 pm
I was told about your website by a California lady that takes beautiful pictures of beautiful bugs. I grabbed my camera to see what kind of bug pictures I could take.
This picture was taken at approximately 42.074009N and 76.847949W at about 0730 on 25 August 2012. It is a wooded area just about 15 yards north of the Chemung River.
It is a rather ugly bug and it was eating(?) breakfast(?) on a leaf.
Can you identify either the breakfast or the bug?
Signature: whytepaper

Flutter Fly

Dear whytepaper,
We quickly identified your Flutter Fly in the genus Toxonevra thanks to bugGuide. We thought it resembled the Picture Winged Flies, and it is classified in the same superfamily Tephritoidea. According to the Flutter Fly family page on BugGuide: “larvae phytophagous or predaceous on longhorn & bark beetle larvae (Cerambycidae, Curculionidae: Scolytinae)”and the adults are found “on flowers and low-hanging branches in shady habitats, larvae under bark, and in flower buds and stems.” This represents a new family for our website.

Mr. Marlos,
Thank you so much for identifying the flutter fly. I am just beginning and will try and study your sight so I won’t bother your staff with boring pictures.
Anna Carreon told me that she has already sent you a note that she is the California Lady whose pictures I am envious of.
Thank you again for the rapid response to the flutter fly identification.
John White

Hi John,
Anna frequently contributes wonderful photos and letters to our site. We hope to get some interesting images from you in the future. If you see any gaps in our archive, please submit images.